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US-Iran tensions
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Joe Biden warns Iran against targeting US troops in the Middle East

  • Biden sent a message to Iran’s Supreme Leader warning against targeting US personnel in the Middle East after spate of attacks on US forces in region
  • The Pentagon said US troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and 4 times in Syria in the past week

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US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington o Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Reuters

US President Joe Biden has sent a rare message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning Tehran against targeting US personnel in the Middle East, the White House said on Thursday after a spate of attacks on American forces in the region.

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“There was a direct message relayed,” White House spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing, declining to elaborate.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, Iran on Monday. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service Handout / EPA-EFE
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, Iran on Monday. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service Handout / EPA-EFE
US officials want to avoid a wider conflict in the Middle East following the October 7 attack by the militant Hamas group on Israel that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

About 900 additional US troops are headed to the region or have recently arrived there to bolster air defences to protect US personnel amid a surge in attacks in the region by Iran-affiliated groups, the Pentagon said.

US troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria in the past week, it added.
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On Wednesday, Biden said he had warned the ayatollah the United States would respond if US forces continued to be targeted but did not say how the message was communicated.

“My warning to the ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with Israel,” he told reporters.

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